Nets (+7) at Heat. With Richard Jefferson out, I think the Heat recovers from its awful performance in the opener, but the Nets will keep it close.
Suns (-4) vs Clippers. The Suns are a finely-tuned machine at the moment. And can we stop with the "Steve Nash shouldn't have won the MVP" whining? Please? Sheesh. I'm not saying that there weren't other deserving candidates - there were - but Nash was just as deserving as anyone, probably moreso. So let's stop acting as if there should be an asterick next to his MVP wards in the record books. Nash is about to lead the Suns to the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive year, this time without Amare Stoudemire, not to mention a total of seven players from last year's team, in the tough Western Conference. Who else would have done that?
Was LeBron James worthy? Sure, but would he have led a team to the success Nash did in the Western Conference this season? I doubt it.
Dirk Nowitzki? Sure, perhaps moreso than anyone, to be honest. I don't know if it's possible for a 7-foot German with shaggy hair who plays like a guard to fly under the radar, but Nowitzki probably leans towards being underrated.
Kobe Bryant? Next. I don't want to hear the "Kobe was robbed" talk anymore after that sure-to-be-remembered-forever choke job against the Suns. What did Nash do in Game Seven? How about Kobe? Nash showed up, Kobe crumbled. Enough said. Next.
Chauncey Billups? Sure, but then, you could make an argument for several Pistons.
The most impressive stat I've noticed regarding Nash this past season: Six of his teammates averaged career bests in scoring, with five of them setting persoanl highs in shooting percentage. That's unbelievable, and perhaps, tells the story of Nash's importance more than any other stat. If any player is more valuable to his team than that, I'd like to see it.
Point is, if you want to make an argument for another player as MVP, fine, dandy. But please don't act like Nash should apologize for anything.
Suns/Clippers over 216. I'm riding the over on any game involving the Suns until it no longer works.
May record: 11-7
